Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats will not “supply quorum” for votes in the Senate as a way to try and block the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett before the election.
During a Sunday night press conference, Schumer slammed Republicans for pushing Barrett’s confirmation forward, saying Senate Democrats will do everything they can to prevent Barrett from being confirmed. Schumer went on to say that one way Democrats are considering blocking the confirmation is by not supplying quorum, meaning Democrats would not show up so work could not be done.
A quorum is the minimum number of members present either in a committee or the entire Senate to hold votes, Fox News reported. The quorum in the Senate is 51 members. There are 22 members on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is in charge of the confirmation process, and nine members are required for a quorum in the committee, including at least two from the minority party, according to Fox News.
Seventh U.S. Circuit Court Judge Amy Coney Barrett (L), President Donald Trump’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, meets with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as she begins a series of meetings to prepare for her confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill on September 29, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Susan Walsh-Pool/Getty Images)
“We will talk about when the actual vote occurs in committee and on the floor. Democrats will not supply the quorum,” Schumer said during the press conference. “Period.”
Republicans could create and vote on a new rule to end the quorum in committee, or Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell could introduce a discharge resolution that would make it so there would no longer need to be a committee process and the nomination could be brought to a full vote, Fox News reported.
The Judiciary Committee began their confirmation hearing Monday and hope to vote to confirm Barrett before the November elections.